Pumpkin Cake

I feel like I've been wanting to make this cake for a month (sure enough, I flagged it back on September 17). Finally got around to making it this weekend. What I liked most is the strong ginger flavor, backed by the richness of the pumpkin.

Also, the cream cheese frosting is more sweet than cream cheese, which is good in my opinion. I think there's nothing worse than biting into a pumpkin bar with frosting that tastes too much like cream cheese and not frosting.

Sometimes there's a fine line between quick breads and cakes. This is definitely a cake.

Pumpkin Cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin puree or cooked mashed pumpkin (15 oz can)
cream cheese frosting, below
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl; mix well. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl; stir into oil mixture, beating well. Stir in pumpkin puree.

Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch round layer cake pans. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Frost pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat well until smooth. Makes enough for 2-layer pumpkin cake.

I omitted the nuts and baked it in a bundt pan because I am lazy and wasn't presenting it to guests.